Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie team up for joint 2012 arena dates

Two of metal's most enduring and occasionally controversial figures have announced plans for a brief but punchy tour of the UK's biggest indoor venues this autumn.

Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson, continues to resist the comfortable slippers of middle age and shows little signs of reaching for the Werther's, releasing his eighth studio album, Born Villain, in May of this year. The tour is his first here in three years as he continues to promote Born Villain.

Rob Cummings, aka Rob Zombie, is likely to prove a match for Manson's macabre theatricality, as he continues to juggle his metal career with his day job of directing horror films (his biggest hit to date was the 2007 remake of the John Carpenter 70s classic, Halloween, which grossed $78m). His next movie, The Lords of Salem, is due for release later this year while he's currently working on his fifth solo studio album and his first since 2010's Hellbilly Deluxe 2.

The combination of Rob and Brian promises much and the four dates in four nights at the end of November are set to be one of the best and bloodiest metal events of the year.

The double-header kicks off at the O2 Arena in Greenwich on 26th November, followed by huge arena shows in Manchester and Glasgow, before the final gig announced so far at the NIA in Birmingham on 29th November. We will have tickets available from 9am on Friday 27th July, priced from £30 for the O2 gig and from £35 for all other dates.